Awakened Paradigm

 In many esoteric traditions, magick is often simply understood as bringing about change in reality according to the will and intent that are expressed through a person's beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions. The type of magick that manifests then depends on the nature of that will and intent, the energy invested in advancing them, and the actions taken to give them expression in reality. So, if a community system has ill intentions toward us, puts focused energy into carrying out those intentions, and takes actions based on that ill will to bring about an intended harmful outcome in our lives, then what they are doing is practicing baneful magick against us. They may not view themselves as practicing magick, but if their collective intentions, energetic focus, and coordinated actions are directed toward producing harmful outcomes in our lives, then they are engaging in what many esoteric traditions would regard as baneful magick, whether they recognize it by that name or not...

Sometimes the most wicked-hearted people you will ever encounter in your life are groups of "nice" people who have learned to confuse social respectability with moral integrity, never realizing that it is entirely possible to be courteous, publicly respectable, and outwardly pleasant while participating in profound injustice toward others. These types of communities, social groups, and organizations, despite their outward appearance of decency and respectability, practice some of the most baneful magick by directing their collective will, focused communal energy, and coordinated actions toward the humiliation, exclusion, intimidation, or destruction of others, while convincing themselves that their outward politeness somehow absolves them of the harm that they are causing. I learned this lesson the hard way when a community of outwardly "nice" people made me their target. That's how I came to understand that a pleasant public image is not the same thing as havin...

 Unhealthy community systems need us to continually devalue ourselves and endure group-based humiliation tactics, coordinated social pressure, and repeated indignities at their hands in order to be "accepted." This is because the price of maintaining a place within the group is our willingness to continually diminish our value, self-respect, conscience, and personal integrity by subjecting ourselves to the community system's humiliation rituals, dysfunctional social dynamics, and unhealthy group expectations. They often confuse unquestioning submission with loyalty, enduring repeated humiliation at the hands of the group with proving ourselves, surrendering our personal integrity with being a team player, and continual self-abandonment with belonging. This creates the impression that tolerating this culture of humiliation, self-erasure, loss of conscience, and loss of dignity is simply the cost of remaining part of the group. These types of community systems do n...

 A commonly cited estimate is around 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. When we consider this alongside Jesus' words, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13–14), it serves as a sobering reminder that simply identifying with Christianity, belonging to a denomination, or participating in a religious tradition does not, by itself, guarantee that a person is walking a path that leads to genuine spiritual life and inner transformation. This means to me that maybe following Christ, knowing God, or awakening to the Divine within has less to do with joining a particular denomination, theological system, or religious institution—all of which are external and many—and more to do with going within ourselves, coming to know God through direct inward experience, and not fe...

A nation can claim divine favor, but if its people become hard-hearted, oppressive, unjust, or spiritually stagnant, in the context of biblical narratives, it is repeatedly shown that God challenges such nations rather than automatically endorsing them. Even the prophets repeatedly warned that a perceived special status before God did not exempt nations or peoples from judgment, correction, or accountability when they became unjust, corrupt, or spiritually complacent. This means that even if a nation claims divine favor, such a claim should never be viewed as a guarantee of God’s approval, protection, or endorsement of everything that nation does. And eventually, if it persists in injustice, corruption, oppression, or spiritual decline, it may find itself facing the very correction, consequences, and accountability that it once assumed could never apply to it. So, if you are someone who has faith and takes pride in their nationality, be careful not to confuse appreciation for your nati...

  I am a blessing to people. That is why communities that are deeply psychospiritually stagnant have had such a hard time trying to snuff out my light. It’s because they were coming up against the calling over my life, and trying to stop me from being a blessing to the people around me, even if I didn’t fully understand the extent of that calling at the time they began their instrumental group aggressions against me. Looking back, I can see that what they were resisting was not merely me as an individual, but the growth, encouragement, insight, and positive influence that I was capable of bringing into the lives of others. And because of that, their efforts were never simply about silencing a person; they were attempts to obstruct a purpose that was intended to benefit people beyond myself. And going forward, I refuse to allow the resistance of psychospiritually stagnant community structures to determine the scope of my impact, to diminish my willingness to shine, or to discourage ...

 If you look out into the world — well, for those of us in the U.S.A., since I am speaking from my own lived context, but this can apply to other countries as well — if you look out and think that those who are leading this country are the epitome of inner transformation and the continuous renewal of the heart, soul, and mind, you need to go within yourself and have a come to Jesus moment, because true inner transformation does not look like corruption, moral incoherence, unhealed trauma running the show, and power-hungry behavior dressed up as leadership. And this can go for all people across the full spectrum of political, religious, and ideological identity, mind you. So, if all you see are leaders in this country who are stagnant in consciousness, stagnant in their leadership abilities, and stagnant in their soul development processes, where they are parading around as if they are the end-all and be-all of what constitutes leadership, ethical integrity, embodied wisdom, an...